The present invention relates to computing systems, and deals more particularly with searches that use computing systems to locate network-accessible documents. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to re-ranking results obtained from a search in view of social reputation information pertaining to a person who will view the results of the search.
The reputation of a person or entity is generally an opinion, held by others, of the person or entity based on some criteria. The criteria may be subjective in nature. Reputation can be an important factor in many fields, including business and education as well as personal endeavors.
In the so-called “social networking” sites that are provided using online communication networks, a reputation score may be assigned to a person or entity within the scope of the social networking site. With reference to a person, the reputation score may be used to describe the person's knowledge level, interest level, contributions or postings on the site, and/or capabilities in a particular domain. In some social networking sites, a facility is provided whereby person can explicitly evaluate or recommend other people, and a reputation score may be derived from this information.